Warm weather persists with a high temperature of 48° F. Green Bay has had only one day in which the temperature didn't rise above freezing since Dec 8. There were 13 days with a high temperature of 40 or more in that period.

TWO wooly bear caterpillars (Arctiidae:
Pyrrharctia isabella) walking across the Fox River Trail on New Year's eve afternoon, in the rain, Fox River Trail, Allouez and DePere, WI. (Mike Draney)

Green Bay averaged 9 degrees (F) above the "normal" for December.

Dec 28

Green Bay received a little snow this morning, as seen on the UWGB campus near PrairiePond, and along the shore of Green Bay. The weather forecast predicts that the snow will quickly melt. [it did]

Dec 26

Temperatures hovered around freezing for much of the last 36 hours, ice remains on prairie pond. There is still no snow cover in Green Bay.

Dec 25

Ice cover reformed by the morning of Dec 25th on UWGB's prairie pond and the East River in Allouez. This is the latest date of final freeze for the East River in the last 16 years (no data before then).

Dec 23

Ice cover melted off UWGB's prairie pond and the East River in Allouez (both Brown County Wisconsin). Green Bay's high temperature for the day was 39° F.

Dec 22

This is the official first day of winter. The large weather system that brought Colorado heavy snow (2 ft+) on the 20th and 21st has brought steady rains to Wisconsin at a season when we are more accustomed to snow.

Though some ice remains, UWGB's prairie pond is no longer fully ice-covered. The Cofrin Arboretum, like the rest of Brown and adjacent counties, is snow-free.

The East River in Allouez, Brown County is also no longer fully ice-covered and lower Green Bay is nearly ice-free except for small patches on the shoreline. Steady rains yesterday and this morning have formed numerous puddles and swelled area streams.

Dec 21

A very large snow storm has brought large areas of eastern Colorado to a standstill. Denver's airport has been closed since Wednesday (12/20), trapping numerous travelers enroute to Christmas destinations.

Dec 17

Warm weather continues in Green Bay. Today is the 8th consecutive day that the high temperature reached 40° F or above, tying the Green Bay record for December (equalled only once on Dec 16-23, 1931).

After about a week of very cold nights in early December (low teens and as low as 2° F), I did not find any open flowers of Caltha palustris (Marsh marigold) recently (see November 29), but I did find healthy flower buds that are ready to open if the warm temperatures continue. The leaves and flowers of the Caltha plants that flowered in November have turned black and in some cases fallen off the plants. The conical sets of tightly-rolled leaves and the unusual hooded (unopened) flowers of Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage) are also easily visible in some spring-fed wetlands locally.

Dec 16

The ice cover on the East River in Allouez opened today. A very thin shell of ice re-formed during the night.

Dec 15

The over-night low temperautre in Green Bay was 37° F and highs are predicted in the mid 40's today and tomorrow. Ice on UWGB's prairie pond is thin and covered with water. It won't take much more of this warm weather to open the ice cover--the same is true for the EastRiver in Allouez (a Green Bay suburb).

Wisconsin DNR cautions people to stay off the ice -- no ice covered lakes are considered safe now. Most of Wisconsin is essentially snow-free now and there are only 1 or 2 inches of snow in even the most northern counties. Fairly large flocks of Canada Geese are still being reported.

Dec 14

Warm weather continues with a high temperature in Green Bay of 49° F. The average high temperature for this date is 28°.

Dec 13

Green Bay's high temperature was 45° F.

Dec 12

Several days of warm temperatures have melted most of the snow coverin the Green Bay area. The high temperatures were 40 and 41 the two previous days and this mornings low temperature was 40 ° F. There is fog and light rain this morning. [Today's high was 46°].

Dec 07

A special 4 day antlerless deer hunting (gun) season begins today in Wisconsin. It is a good idea to wear blaze orange clothing during this period if you are outdoors in rural areas. The extra hunting season is necessary to bring the total number of deer closer to management goals. The archery season is also open for deer from November 27 through January 7.

Snow flurries in the morning (0.9 inches total) with an overnight low of 13° F in Green Bay.

Dec 03

Green Bay's low temperature of 12° F is the lowest temperature since March 7.

Dec 02

The East River in Allouez (Brown County, WI) was completely ice-covered this morning.

Dec 01

Light snow before dawn today, increasing through the early morning. Green Bay received 1.1 inches and southeastern Wisconsin reported 17 inches in KenoshaCounty and 10.1 inches in Milwaukee County.

Heavy snow is forecast for southeastern Wisconsin today. This is a large storm system stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to New England, but falling as rain throughout much of the area south of the Great Lakes.

Prairie Pond on UWGB's Cofrin arboretum is now ice-covered. Last year it froze on Dec 2. The pond has frozen as early as Nov 8 and as late as Dec 18 with an average of Nov 24 (data for 10 years).